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Re: microphone hiss

Subject: Re: microphone hiss
From: Rob Danielson <>
Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 23:53:44 -0600
At 11:03 AM +1000 11/1/05, Judy Parrott wrote:
>I have read with interest your information on outdoor sound recordings. I
>have a sony MZ NH1 Himd recorder and sony ECM MS907 microphone. With my ol=
d
>MZR900 recorder this microphone did not generate a noticable hiss. But set
>at high sensitivity on the MZNH1, the hiss can be annoying if the sound
>source is too quiet.

Yes, very likely your 907 mic is the source of the noise. The signal
to noise ratio with these mic/deck combination should be same no
matter the gain used. You can test this by boosting the playback
volume of a recording made with your MZR900 to match those of your
HiMD and the noise component should be very similar in proportion.
Adding an auxiliary preamplifcation isn't going to help as the mic is
the source of the noise, not the MD/HiMD mic preamps.


>  I discovered FEL 3.5 SJ preamps on your site and am
>considering buying one to help with the problem. I am based in Australia a=
nd
>there doesn't seem to be any equivalent here.
>I realise the best thing to do would be buy a better mic, but I have just
>spent ages creating wind jams especially designed for this mic, and my
>recording project starts in 3 weeks so I am running short of time. Any
>advice on the preamp or other solutions would be much appreciated. I am al=
so
>looking into buying a rode microphone.
>Cheers, Judy
>

Possibly something to replace your M-S stereo mic?  I'm not aware of
a "single point" stereo mic with better specs than the Rode NT-4
without spending considerably more.  If you're on a tight budget,
there's a good chance you'd be happier with a pair of
omni-directional Panasonic WM61-A capsules over the ECM MS907 though
(more output, less noise). Sound Professionals packages these for
about $60 a pair.
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-BMC-3
Maybe someone knows of a source for mics made with these capsules in
Australia. Rob D.

>
>Judy Parrott
>


--
Rob Danielson
Film Department
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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